The bill makes the head of the Copyright Office,
the Register of Copyrights, a presidential appointment that would have to be
confirmed by the Senate, rather than an appointment by the Librarian of
Congress, as it has been since 1870. The bill also limits the position of
Librarian of Congress to a ten-year term.

The previous Librarian of Congress, James
Billington, served in the position for 28 years.

President Barack Obama appointed Hayden the 14th
Librarian of Congress on February 24, 2016. =She is the first African American
to hold the position, as well as the first woman to be the Librarian of
Congress, in the agency’s history. On March 23, legislation was introduced to
block Hayden from appointing the next Register of Copyrights. That legislation
passed the House on April 26.

Supporters of the bill argued that the legislation
would help to modernize the Copyright Office and make it more accountable to
Congress. Attempts to contact the office of Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) for
details on why he authored H.R. 1695, were not answered.

“This bill serves no purpose other than to take
power away from the Librarian of Congress and give it to powerful lobbyists,
who will have a major say in who runs the Copyright Office,” wrote Michael
MasnickonTechDirt.com
on April 26. “It’s a bad bill, and it’s a gift to Hollywood.” READ
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